The Republican spoke after signing a compromise bill approved by lawmakers last week that raises taxes on retail pot, establishes stringent requirements for the packaging and labeling of marijuana products, and spells out procedures cities and towns must follow if they wish to ban or restrict pot shops from opening in their communities.

Beginning Friday, the state Medical Marijuana Commission will accept applications from those hoping to grow or supply marijuana, while the Health Department will take applications from those hoping to benefit from the first marijuana-as-medicine program in the Bible Belt. The application periods will run until Sept. 18.

“With medical cannabis fully legal in Canada and now in Mexico, we wonder how long it will be before the United States joins the rest of North America in reforming laws at the national/federal level,” added Dr. Titus. “With 30 U.S. States approving medical cannabis and 17 others with CBD-only laws, we feel the real crime in this matter is the lack of progressive leadership shown by our own federal government. The science 100% supports this, the people fully support this, and the opioid crisis is totally out of control. We, the people, demand answers from our leaders.”

“The guidelines, which were released today (June 23) by the Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Misuse, are meant to educate marijuana users so that they can make choices that could modify the risks from the drug…”

Last year, Denver officials developed new rules that require marijuana grows and edible manufacturers, along with pet food manufacturing plants, sewage treatment facilities and other pungent properties, to develop Odor Control Plans outlining how they would manage smells wafting from their sites.